Following southern German custom, Toby and Joshua placed boots on our front porch the Eve of December 6th. During the night, St. Nicholas arrived to fill them with mandarin oranges, walnuts, and other small gifts.Afterward, we continued our tradition of celebrating St. Nicholas Day with other German families in Ventura.This time the kids helped by preparing homemade fettucini for our meal, and using a pasta maker for the first time. (A big hit.) The adults read stories about the real St. Nicholas -- the 4th century Bishop of Myra (a city in modern-day Turkey), ea
ch child shared either a poem or song they memorized in German, and then St. Nicholas made a surprise visit; leaving behind a personal letter for each child, some Christmas chocolate, and a new German book for each of them. 
